City of Helena v. Frankforter, 423 P.3d 581

On Aug. 26, 2014, Frankforter’s wife reported he assaulted her; officer observed bruises/abrasions and learned she previously injured her hand, allegedly by Frankforter twisting her arm.
City charged Frankforter with two counts of Partner or Family Member Assault (PFMA): one for the Aug. 26 incident and one for the earlier hand injury.
At bench trial, the wife recanted that the hand injury was from domestic violence and said it happened in a boating accident; officer testified she had earlier told him Frankforter twisted her arm but could not say where that prior incident occurred.
Municipal Court convicted on both PFMA counts; District Court affirmed on appeal; Frankforter appealed to the Montana Supreme Court arguing the City failed to prove venue/jurisdiction for the second count.
The Supreme Court examined the distinction between venue (place of trial) and jurisdiction (court’s authority), statutory waiver rules for venue, and whether the prosecution proved the Municipal Court had jurisdiction over the prior-hand-injury charge.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether failing to object before first witness waives objection to county of prosecution	Frankforter: venue is a "jurisdictional fact" and must be proved beyond reasonable doubt; timely objection necessary	City: statutory waiver under § 46-3-111(2) bars late venue objections	Held: A defendant waives a county-venue objection if not raised before first witness; venue is waivable per § 46-3-111(2).
Whether venue must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt at trial	Frankforter: venue must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt	City: venue is a pretrial, waivable matter; prosecution need not prove it beyond a reasonable doubt at trial	Held: Overrules prior cases to the extent they required proof of venue beyond a reasonable doubt; venue is not an essential jurisdictional fact for trial.
Whether Municipal Court had jurisdiction over the prior hand-injury PFMA charge	Frankforter: City failed to prove where the prior incident occurred, so court lacked jurisdiction	City: did not contest venue waiver; argued waiver foreclosed challenge	Held: Jurisdiction cannot be waived; prosecution must prove court has jurisdiction. Because no evidence showed the offense occurred in Lewis and Clark County, jurisdiction was not established and conviction vacated.
Effect of confusing venue and jurisdiction in prior precedent	N/A	N/A	Held: Court clarifies and corrects precedent—venue and jurisdiction are distinct; venue may be waived, jurisdiction may not.

City of Helena v. Broadwater, 375 Mont. 450 (2014) (standard of review for district-court review of municipal-court appeals)
State v. Patterson, 367 Mont. 186 (2012) (venue/jurisdiction review; de novo review of legal conclusions)
State v. Thompson, 294 Mont. 321 (1999) (pre-1967 line holding venue as a jurisdictional fact that must be proven at trial — expressly overruled to the extent it conflates venue and jurisdiction)
In re Support Obligation of McGurran, 310 Mont. 268 (2002) (distinguishing venue from jurisdiction)
State v. Williams, 122 Mont. 279 (1949) (older precedent treating venue as a jurisdictional fact; discussed and limited)